Wheeled gun-carriage.



G. WIENHOLTZ.

WHEELED GUN CARRIAGE. ,APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 13. 1913.

1,079, a1 6, Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

the same scale as Fig. 3.

oNiTED STATES PATENT orrron.

enone WIENI-IOLTZ, OF ESSEN-ON-THE-RUHR, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO FRIED. KRUPP AK'rIENGEsELLscHAr'r, or ESSEN-ON-THE-RUI-IR, GERMANY.

WHEELED GUN-CARRIAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be 1t known that I, Gnono WIENHOLTZ, resldlng at Essen-on-the-Ruhr, Germany,

a subject of the Emperor of Germany, have kind are provided with an arrangement which reduces the expenditure of power necessary for moving the gun carriage from small. to great firing heights.

' Inthe drawing Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a constructional example of the subject matter of the invention with one of the front wheels of the gun carriage broken away, Fig. 2 is the corresponding plan view, partially in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a portion of Fig. 2 drawn to a larger scale and, Fig. 4 is a section on the line M of Fig. 1 drawn to The axle, for the 'gun c arriage wheels G, is cranked and consists of the cranked outer portions A and the middle portion A which is carried by and rotates in the body B of the gun carriage. The axle-tree is secured in difierent positions by bolts or the like, which are not shown in the drawing, and by means of which the cranked arms a of the outer portions A of the axle-tree can be coupled to the body of the gun carriage.

The middle portion A of the axle-tree is provided for nearly the whole of its length with an axial boring a This boring serves for the reception of a spring accumulator, which consists of a helical spring C and a bolt D. The spring C is coiled around the bolt D and its end 0 engages a collar (Z (see Fig. 3) on the bolt D and its other end 0 engages a recess a (see Fig. 3) in the portion A of the axle-tree. The bolt D is centered in the boring a by a pin 0Z (see Fig. 3) on the bolt, which enters a boring a in the axle-tree and by a sleeve E, which,

is mounted on the axle-tree and closes the boring a The bolt D is prevented from moving in an axial direction by the collars d (Z (see Fig. 3), the collar (Z bearing against the inner end of the boring a while the collar (Z bears against the sleeve E. The end (Z of the .bolt D, projecting from the sleeve E, is connected'by a feather and groove with an arm F so as to be incapable of rotating, and the said arm F is rigidly secured, as shown in Figs. 1 and 1, to one of the covers 5 of the bearings for the portion A of the axletree. In consequence of this arrangement the bolt D is prevented from rotating relatively to the body B of the gun carriage.

When the axle-tree is in the position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, which position corresponds to the lowest firing height. of the gun carriage, the spring G possesses a certain amount of stress. The direction in which the spring 0 is coiled is so chosen,

that it uncoils when the portion A of the axle-tree rotates in the direction of the arrow w (see Fig. 1) relatively to the body of the gun carriage.

When the gun carriage is to have a greater firing height given to it, than that shown in the drawing, the axle-tree is rotated relatively to the wheels, in such a manner that the cranked arms o of the outer portions A of the axle-tree, are rocked in the direction of the arrow 3 (see Fig. 1). When this takes place, the middle portion A of the axle-tree is rotated relatively to the body B of the gun carriage in the direction of the arrow w, so that the spring C uncoils and consequently facilitates the shifting of the gun carriage into the greater firing height, shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 1. When the gun carriage is let down again to a lower firing height the spring 0 is again stressed.

I claim:

1. In a wheeled gun carriage having a trail, a cranked axle-tree, bearings in said trail in which the middle cranked portion of the axle-tree is mounted to oscillate, a spring accumulator one end of which is secured to the trail and the other end to the axle-tree in such a manner that the spring is compressed when the trail is in the lowest position and partly or wholly released when the trail is in the highest position. v

2. In a wheeled gun carriage having a trail, a cranked axle-tree, bearings in said said trail; the middle portion of the axle tree being hollow, an accumulator in the hollow portion of the axle-tree, said accumulator comprising a helical spring, a spindle for said spring, one end of the spring being secured to said spindle and the other end thereof to said middle portion of the axle-tree; and means for rigidly connecting said spindle to the trail.

hollow portion of the axle-tree, said accumulator comprising a helical spring, a spindle for said spring, one end of the spring being secured to said spindle and the other end thereof to said middle portion of the axletree; an arm keyed to said spindle and rigidly secured to the trail; said accumulator having its greatest stress when the trail is in the lowest position.

The foregoing specification signed at Barinen, Germany, this 27th day January, 1913.

GEORG WIENHOLTZ. [Ls] In presence of- HELEN NUFER, ALBERT NUFER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

